Reinhard Bonnke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Reinhard Bonnke
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Reinhard Bonnke
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| Born | 19 April 1940 Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany
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| Died | 7 December 2019 (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Evangelist |
Reinhard Bonnke (born April 19, 1940 – died December 7, 2019) was a Christian leader known as an evangelist. He was from Germany and later became an American citizen. He was especially famous for his large Christian outreach events, called missions, held across Africa. Bonnke worked as an evangelist and missionary in Africa starting in 1967.
Early Life and Calling
Reinhard Bonnke was born on April 19, 1940, in a place called Königsberg, which was then part of Germany. His father was an army officer. During a difficult time, Reinhard, his mother, and his siblings moved to Denmark. They spent some years in a center for people who had been displaced from their homes.
When he was nine years old, Reinhard became a Christian after his mother talked with him. At age 10, he felt a strong calling from God to become a missionary in Africa. He also said he had an experience called the "baptism in the Holy Spirit." After serving in the war, Reinhard's father became a pastor.
Bonnke studied at the the Bible College of Wales in Swansea, Wales. There, he was inspired by the college director, Samuel Rees Howells. After graduating, he worked as a pastor in Germany for seven years. His important work in Africa, which he is most known for, began in 1967 in Lesotho. After that, he held many large Christian meetings all over the continent.
It is believed that over 79 million people became Christians because of Bonnke's work. Many people called him a "giant" in the Christian faith.
Missions in Africa
At first, Bonnke found his efforts to share the Christian message were not growing very quickly. He felt a bit frustrated. Then, Bonnke said he had a dream many times. In this dream, he saw a map of Africa turning red, and he heard God's voice saying, "Africa Shall Be Saved." This dream made him decide to focus on very large meetings, rather than just small ones.
He rented a stadium in Gaborone, Botswana, to hold his first big meeting. Even though local churches didn't help much at first, the stadium meetings grew from only 100 people.
In 1974, Bonnke started a mission organization called Christ For All Nations (CfaN). It was first located in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1986, the main office moved to Frankfurt, Germany. This move was made to separate the organization from South Africa's apartheid policy, which was a system of racial separation at the time. Today, CfaN has offices in nine locations across five continents.
Bonnke's ministry began with meetings held in large tents. One story from the Christian Broadcasting Network says that in 1984, he ordered the building of what was said to be the world's largest mobile tent. This tent could hold 34,000 people. However, a strong wind storm destroyed it just before a big meeting. Because of this, his team decided to hold the event outdoors instead. The event was then attended by over 100,000 people, which was much more than the tent could have held.
Besides South Africa, Bonnke held many large events in other African countries like Nigeria and Kenya. He became known as "the Billy Graham of Africa." In 2001, a journalist named Corrie Cutrer wrote that Bonnke had set "record-breaking attendances" at his events in Nigeria.
Bonnke announced his "farewell gospel crusade" would be held in Lagos, Nigeria, in November 2017. Lagos was also the place of a huge event in 2000. CfaN says that meeting was their largest ever, with six million people attending. In 2019, Reinhard Bonnke was scheduled to speak at a conference in Pretoria, South Africa.
Personal Life
After finishing his studies at the Bible College of Wales, Bonnke returned to Germany. He started receiving invitations to speak all over Germany and other parts of the world. He met Anni Suelze at a Christian music festival. He was impressed by how gracefully she handled a mistake during her performance. He offered to preach at her church one Sunday, and they fell in love. Reinhard and Anni married in 1964. They had three children together.
Death
Reinhard Bonnke passed away on December 7, 2019. In November 2019, he had shared on his Facebook page that he had surgery on his leg and needed time to learn to walk again. Muhammadu Buhari, who was the President of Nigeria and a Muslim, praised Bonnke. He noted Bonnke's frequent visits to Nigeria and said Bonnke's death was a "great loss to Nigeria."
Autobiography
Bonnke wrote a book about his life called Living a Life of Fire. It shares many stories from his life. These include his childhood during the Second World War and living in camps. It also covers his early years in ministry and how he believed God used him to share the Christian message in Africa.
